Miscellany

Is it just me, or did January seem like the longest month ever? It seems like New Year's Day was months ago rather than mere weeks. 

Gregg finished his five rounds of radiation early in the month. It was much easier than he was afraid it would be and the few side effects he's had have been relatively minor. We won't know how successful it was until March, when he's scheduled for a CT scan and follow up appointments. I hope that will be the end of this situation. It's been a constant nagging worry for months now. 

Plenty of other things were hard to deal with in January, of course the biggest was the return of the Trump to the White House. It's less than two weeks into his term and it's been utter chaos and flagrant cruelty in a non-stop barrage of evil (and mostly illegal) executive orders. It's been really hard to try to put all that aside and carry on with normal life, but for the sake of my mental health I've had to try. I know most of you understand.

It's going to be a long four years, friends. 

But enough about that. It's a new month in a still new year, and today the sun is shining and I'm at home. George and Poppy are always thrilled when they realize it's a weekend morning and I'm not leaving for work. They wrestled and played on the rug in front of me while I had my morning coffee earlier. Marco was on one of his big perches nearby, squawking and flapping his wings and obviously wanting to jump into the middle of the dogs' play fighting and participate. We have to keep a close eye on him to prevent that, because he doesn't have enough common sense to realize how badly that could go! The dogs wouldn't intentionally hurt him, but they play really rough with each other and get really wound up and fierce. Any normal bird wouldn't want any part of two "fighting" dogs, but Marco thinks it looks like fun! 

Speaking of life with Marco...this morning, while taking a shower, Gregg noticed a section of paint chewed off a corner at one end of the shower curtain rod. That's classic Marco business right there. Sometimes he likes to perch on the curtain rod while I shower so that I can give him a quick shower, too.  This isn't the first time he's chewed paint off that spot. We just (re)painted the bathroom last summer and tried to be diligent in keeping him away from that particular corner. I have no idea when or how he got away with it this time, and Gregg is PISSED. We have some extra leftover paint, and can touch up the area without too much trouble, but he's still pretty mad about it. Since he retired last spring, he's at home a lot more and gets pretty tired of dealing with Marco's bad behaviors day in and day out. 

In the linen closet the other day, refusing to come out. Incidentally, one of the outer corners of this closet is where he chewed off the paint. He's a real asshole sometimes.

In other exciting news, I started some tomato seeds last week and they've begun to sprout! Plans for the 2025 garden are well underway. This afternoon I want to start pepper seeds (I should have done this already) and I need to place a seed order soon. I plan to make a second, smaller raised bed this year so I can grow some extra vegetables. I'm afraid that produce prices are going to skyrocket this summer, and the more I can grow for us, the better. I'd also like to plant a lot more zinnia varieties this year, both for the pollinators and for the simple joy of bouquets in the house. I love cut flowers, and zinnias are so easy and cheerful!

Do you have any gardening plans this year?

Are you as glad as me that January is finally over? 

What are you up to this first weekend in February?

Answers on a postcard, please.